National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Conference Headed to the California Delta
OutdoorHub 03.22.12
National Guard FLW College Fishing is headed to the California Delta March 31 for the third of four stops in the Western Conference. Forty college teams will be competing for a top award of $5,000 and a berth in the Western Regional Championship tournament.
“They should have a pretty good bite right now,” said FLW Tour pro Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif. “The bass are going to be in full-on pre-spawn mode, and the fish are moving up and getting ready. The temperature has been pretty stable lately, right around 65 to 70 degrees every day, so it’s really starting to warm up.
“I’d target some of the flooded lake areas,” Meyer continued. “Frank’s Tract, Mildred’s Island and some of the major move-up spots where the bass are headed up to spawn. Run a variety of crankbaits, chatterbaits, or a vibrating jig. The Jackall MC/60 and the Jackall Aska Shad are my go-to crankbaits. If that’s not working, you can slow down and try a drop-shot rig. There’s really not a whole lot of cover to punch right now, but I might try to find some grass to flip as well.”
Meyer offered some specific advice for the college anglers.
“Don’t get caught up in worrying about the tides too much,” he said. “The locals there run the tide so much, and you can really get caught up in the hype. Just get out there and cover a lot of water. Use a crankbait and fish some of the riff-raff levies and structure and really try to locate some fish. Once you locate them, then worry about trying to catch them. You just need to get out there and fish, and that’s more important than worrying about the tide.”
Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif., at 7:00 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the take off site beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Schools competing in the California Delta tournament, which is hosted by the City of Oakley, include:
- Arizona State University – Austen Schmaltz, San Carlos, Calif., and Ashtin Fitzwater, Chandler, Ariz.
- Arizona State University – Jason Karseboom, Tempe, Ariz., and Bobby Fletcher, Gilbert, Ariz.
- Arizona State University – Joseph Jarrell, Dothan, Ala., and Mark Walker, Anchorage, Alaska
- Boise State University – Jared Spickelmier, Boise, Idaho, and Jacob Leanna, Menominee, Mich.
- Boise State University – Tanner Bice, Middleton, Idaho, and Michael Zawacki, Boise, Idaho
- California Polytechnic State University – Kyle Greenlaw, Magalia, Calif., and John Zeolla, Oak Park, Calif.
- California Polytechnic State University – Russ Gruener, Ventura, Calif., and Patrick Monson, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
- California State University-Chico – Anthony Dayton, Walnut Creek, Calif., and Frank Vogt, Gilroy, Calif.
- California State University-Chico – Garrett Clark, Livermore, Calif., and Daniel Figueroa, Santa Maria, Calif.
- California State University-Chico – Michael Braswell and Bo Harkins, both of Walnut Creek, Calif.
- California State University-Fresno – Joao Lopes, Merced, Calif., and Demetri Filios, Fresno, Calif.
- California State University-Fresno – Shai Van Gelder, Palo Alto, Calif., and Trey Kopacz, Santa Clarita, Calif.
- California State University-Long Beach – Alex Cox, Long Beach, Calif., and Justin Gangel, Valley Center, Calif.
- California State University-Monterey Bay – Arik Anastasiou, Discovery Bay, Calif., and Sebastian Resendiz, Castroville, Calif.
- California State University-Monterey Bay – Matthew Diaz, Castroville, Calif., and David Hamblin, Morgan Hill, Calif.
- California State University-Sacramento – Thomas Kanemoto, Elk Grove, Calif., and Robert Matsuura, Sacramento, Calif.
- California State University-Sacramento – Chase King and Travis Kuhn, both of Lodi, Calif.
- Eastern Washington University – Jarred Walker, Moses Lake, Wash., and Robert Trukositz, Sumter, S.C.
- Eastern Washington University – Nick Barr, Lacey, Wash., and Jesse Squires, Cheney, Wash.
- Humboldt State University – Hideaki Kubo, Turlock, Calif., and Ben Smith, Davis, Calif.
- Humboldt State University – Jen Edgar, Ukiah, Calif., and Derrick Hicks, Sacramento, Calif.
- Humboldt State University – Joe Won, Orange County, Calif., and Shaun Maki, Chino Hills, Calif.
- Northern Arizona University – Cody Sandri and Carter Vickers, both of Flagstaff, Ariz.
- Northern Arizona University – Brent Perkins and Nicole Albright, both of Phoenix, Ariz.
- Oregon State University – Ryan Bell and Colton Thomas, both of Eugene, Ore.
- Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and William Sparks, Corvallis, Ore.
- San Jose State University – Anthony Lee, San Jose, Calif., and Andrew Sumi, San Francisco, Calif.
- San Jose State University – Patrick Rotschi, Mountain View, Calif., and Yousef Ashufta, East Palo Alto, Calif.
- Sonoma State University – Drew White, Danville, Calif., and Adrien Briens, Carlsbad, Calif.
- Sonoma State University – Brendan Castro, Lafayette, Calif., and Brandon Fischer, Rohnert Park, Calif.
- University of California-Davis – Jason Moon, Walnut Creek, Calif., and Christopher Beck, Diamond Springs, Calif.
- University of California-Davis – Philip Choy, Lafayette, Calif., and Kousei Perales, Bakersfield, Calif.
- University of California-Santa Cruz – Jason Coslovich, San Jose, Calif., and Tyler Brownell, Hardin, Kan.
- University of California-Santa Cruz – Sam Sayad, Carmel Valley, Calif., and Yoshi Van Gelder, Palo Alto, Calif.
- University of Nevada-Reno – Brandon Murphy, Boulder City, Nev., and Jared Malone, Sonora, Calif.
- University of Oregon – Kyle Schneider, Beaverton, Ore., and David Wilson, Sacramento, Calif.
- University of Oregon – William Crowl, Selma, Ore., and Zachary Niesen, Mill Valley, Calif.
- University of the Pacific – Sean Widger, Tracy, Calif., and Garrett Brown, Stockton, Calif.
- Utah Valley University – Weston Brierley, Eagle Mountain, Utah, and Cathleen Martinez, Spanish Fork, Utah
- Utah Valley University – Clif Gallagher, Eagle Mountain, Utah, and Tyler Dabling, Orem, Utah
FLW College Fishing teams compete in four qualifying events in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top five teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five regional championships. The top five teams from each regional championship will advance to the national championship.
College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
